


Hear Me, See Me

by SketchWitch



Series: I Love You (When I'm Drunk) [3]
Category: Rune Factory 4
Genre: Gen, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:22:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26908831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SketchWitch/pseuds/SketchWitch
Summary: Kiel has never felt so invisible.
Relationships: Frey/Kiel (Rune Factory), One-Sided - Relationship
Series: I Love You (When I'm Drunk) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938067
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Hear Me, See Me

**Author's Note:**

> This story is to fill a prompt for the word “Invisible” from the RF discord. Love y’all!
> 
> I also made a fic writer discord server here: https://discord.gg/GcKrFqd

_Have you heard? Selphia’s Princess is simply… perfection._ _Not only is she noble and polite, but her compassion is boundless! Aren’t we lucky to get to meet someone like her?_

Aren’t we all lucky, indeed. Princess Frey was a surprise addition to the town of Selphia, but she took to her role as the Princess like a fish to water. She wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty; and I mean that in a more than literal sense. Frey tended to the palace’s farm, as the royalty of Norad should, but she also mingled with the people and went exploring in the wild areas beyond Selphia’s walls. She was pretty, too, but seemed a bit… simple-minded at times. The first time I saw her, I thought she would need protection from the monsters outside, but she proved to be a quick study with a sword. I suppose I underestimated her, then.

One day, as she made her usual rounds through the town square, I called out to her, and she responded with a wave and a cute, bright smile. She was showing the shy new guy, Dylas, around the town. He made it a point not to look at Frey directly, but he was clearly paying attention to everything she pointed out on her tour of the town. I had a feeling, then, that he would enter the competition with Doug and Vishnal for her heart.

~~~~~~~~~~

_ The Princess is so kind and selfless… I wonder if she gets lonely…? _

I asked Frey, once, how she felt about being unable to remember her past. We were in my room at home, reading together, and she was lounging at my desk, nibbling at some sweets that I made earlier. (I heard once that girls had an extra stomach specifically for desserts. I knew that wasn’t necessarily true, but seeing Forte with cake made me question that belief. Seeing Frey also made me doubt that belief). She looked up from her book with a groan and a frown.

“It’s a bit of a pain sometimes,” she admitted. “But there’s nothing I can do about it now, is there?” She smiled wryly, but then looked at me and laid her head down on her arms over the book. “How about you tell me something from your past?”

The sunlight streamed through the windows and the dust motes danced around her, flowing through the air into and out of the shadows. It was an easy question, but… my heart hammered in my chest, and it  _ ached _ . For all the stories I spread and shared, this moment was something I wanted to myself.

I set down my book, settling in and thinking of where to begin.

“When Forte and I were little,” I said, “there was a story we both loved. It was a tale about a Legendary Knight…”

As I continued to describe the story, Frey smiled softly. Could I hold onto this feeling?

~~~~~~~~~~

An interesting man showed up in town today, after we sent Frey to Leon Karnak. He introduced himself as Leon Bastet VIII. But Frey was still in the tower, and even though I was curious about Leon--all of us were--I was more concerned with Frey’s safe return. Would we ever read and eat sweets together again? Would I ever see that gentle smile…?

Lady Ventuswill brought her back, though, and we were all relieved. She was so concerned about Leon, though--understandable, since her mission was to rescue him--that she neglected to check in with everyone else in town. I’m sure she’ll look my way tomorrow, like any other day.

~~~~~~~~~~

I stole a glance from across the beach at the Firefly Festival. Frey was by herself, patrolling like Forte and Meg typically do. I waved at her and smiled, and she looked around before waving halfheartedly back. She smiled sheepishly before announcing that she needed to get back to patrolling. She couldn’t ignore her duties as Princess, after all. Why couldn’t I be by her side? I reached out after her, but she left before I could actually catch her.

I want to stay with her.

Later that night, I asked Forte, “What should I do when there’s something I don’t want to let go of?” She paused in sharpening her blade, giving some thought to her answer.

“Strengthen your grip,” she replied simply.

~~~~~~~~~~

_ I hear that Princess Frey of Selphia is a legendary beauty! She’s caring, works hard, and is quite knowledgeable. What more could anyone want in a princess? _

Frey was throwing a Christmas party at the palace. She had other guests to attend to before the townsfolk, as she’d opened up the palace to visitors to Selphia, as well. I had a seat at a table with Forte and Bado, and we all drank to my parents’ memory. I felt kind of bad for Leon, who sat by himself, but Frey apparently had all of our favorite foods prepared. It seemed like she cooked every dish herself, too, which was even more touching that she remembered.

When she finally entered the room, it was clear that she had a bit too much to drink. I didn’t want to take advantage of the moment, since I wanted it to be something both of us would remember in the future. She announced that dancing would commence after dinner, before serving Christmas cake. I thought we’d get a chance to dance together, after she opened the dance floor with Arthur.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Frey only had eyes for one person the entire evening, like she couldn’t even see anyone else. The rest of us might as well have been invisible. And what’s worse, I couldn’t even blame her. Leon  _ was _ a really cool guy, after all.

~~~~~~~~~~

I was certain that Leon had an excellent reason for breaking Frey’s heart. She didn’t even come in for tea and cake when I invited her after Leon gave us his story while the guys all got together. Forte told me Frey seemed miserable when the girls had their sleepover, so I made some extra cake the next day. Frey seemed determined to move on with her life after her heartbreak, though, but…

“Hey, can I see your hand for a second?” I asked. Frey held out her hand, and I took it, holding it firmly for a moment. “It’s not working…” I remarked. She gave me a look before saying goodbye. I had to let her go, anyway.


End file.
